Resort guide to St Luc -
Switzerland

Charming Swiss mountain ski village. High altitude ski area with good on and off piste terrain

St Luc resort guide - a general overview

St Luc and neighbouring Chandolin are just two of the five resorts which make up the beautiful area known as the Val d'Anniviers. Both resorts are easily reached from Geneva in 2 hours (by car) or 2.5 hours by train. The resorts lie above the town of Sierre deep in the Swiss Alps and as yet remain very much undiscovered gems. The larger known resort of Crans Montana is on the other side of the Rhone valley. St Luc is a charming, picture postcard Swiss mountain village largely made up of with traditional mazots, century old chalets and a few small two and three star hotels as well as a lovely 4 star, the Hotel Bella Tola. It is true that the nightlife is quiet. However, if all you really look for are a few beers in a local bar after a hard day's skiing then you'll be absolutely fine. As an alternative to apres, after a day on the slopes, most people head back to their hotel or chalet in St Luc for relax.

Valaisan food is world renowned and it is a delight to sample the raclette and fondues with plenty of choice among the local restaurants of which there are many. The village is also blessed with a variety of shops from traditional patisserie to supermarkets. There are also sports shops catering for skiers and snow boarders with all the latest ski and snow boarding equipment.

The whole area has 220km of pisted runs, so there is plenty to ski and board. The St Luc/Chandolin area offers 75km of pistes but also some fantastic North facing free-ride off piste areas with couloirs and powder fields. To reach the other areas you would need to have a car or hop on the shuttle bus which goes to each resort every 20 minutes (free with lift pass). The skiing in this area will suit either families with young children, beginner and low intermediate adults and also those who like their off-piste untracked all week!! With the top station at just under 3,000 metres and over 1,400 metres of vertical there is plenty of everything, and the North and East facing slopes keep their snow in good condition. What's more the back-country terrain hardly ever gets tracked out so you can repeat descents all day long with fresh tracks each time - oh joy.

Level of skiing

Qualities

Pros

Excellent off-piste terrain that never gets tracked out (local area: 75km of pistes)

Lovely village feel with friendly locals - ideal for relaxed skiing

Great weekend destination. Easy reach from Geneva and hotels accepting short stays

Combined large ski area with Grimentz and Zinal of nearly 220km of pistes

Cons

No buzzing nightlife - the local bars will have to do

The amount of pisted runs is a little limiting for the aspiring intermediate piste cruiser

St Luc
Resort Restaurants

It boasts a few restuarants that are quaint and provide good local food. One to name is the Le Beausite which, combining rest and pleasure offers calm and tranquillity and one of the specialities is the steak tatare. Another restaurant which comes highly recommended is Cafe-restaurant de la Poste which does fantastic regional specialities such as fondues and raclette. We also highly recommend eating at the Hotel Weisshorn & Cabane Bella Tola.

St Luc
Mountain Restaurants

Mountain restaurants in St Luc are slightly limited.

St Luc
Apres Ski

Limited, but three to name are the L'Azimut and Freeride pub and Tapouk.